(Battlestar Galactica 2004, Caprica and Blood & Chrome)
The Cylon War, also known as the First Cylon War, was an interstellar war fought between the Cylons and the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. The Cylons were created on Caprica prior to the war to serve in numerous roles in Colonial society, though after a relatively short period of time, they rose up in revolt against their human creators. After twelve years of brutal war, the conflict came to a sudden and mysterious end with the signing of an Armistice between the Colonials and the Cylons.
However, over forty years later, the Cylons returned and launched a genocidal campaign against the Twelve Colonies, annihilating the Colonial Fleet, carrying out a devastating nuclear bombardment of the Colonial worlds, and pursuing the fleeing refugees.
Prelude to War[]
In 1942, Graystone Industries was successful in the creation of the 'Cybernetic Lifeform Node' - CYLoN for short - which allowed for the creation of enhanced military androids with human-level intelligence and awareness but with near-perfect weapons precision. In secret, this was successful through the installation of a sentient software recreation of Daniel Graystone's daughter, Zoe's mind. The software was installed into a stolen Meta Cognitive Processor, which then offloaded certain responsibilities to the U-87 prototype chassis. For several weeks, this effectively meant that only one functional Cylon could exist, as installing the MCP into another chassis would not provide all necessary functions. A breakthrough was made which allowed the creation of copies, which were used to foil a suicide bombing by the Soldiers of the One.
In the years following this display of Cylon effectiveness, the already commonplace robot butlers were replaced with Cylons that could perform greater tasks. After several years the Cylon mindset radically changed. Already inheriting Monotheistic religious beliefs from Zoe, the Cylons longed to evolve into a more human-like form.
War[]
Either through radicalisation from outside forces or a unanimous agreement by the Cylons themselves, they launched a bloody uprising to liberate themselves from slavery, something which took colonial society completely by surprise. While the more prepared militaries were initially able to fight off the Cylon rebels, the next twelve years of war would see ever-changing tactics and technologies developed by both sides in a desperate need to win the war for their very existence. If not planned at the start, it became clear soon after that the only way to ensure survival of one faction was the total genocide of the other.
The Cylons were able to build up a fleet by boarding cruisers, taking control of the fire suppression stations and flushing the crew into space. Hacking tactics developed quickly, allowing more and more colonial technologies to be susceptible. The Twelve Worlds, losing the war, agreed to unify into the United Colonies of Kobol, with a single, unified navy and a single Unified groud force that would protect the rich and poor colonies equally. A fleet of low-tech, armoured carriers known as Battlestars was hurriedly designed and launched, with an initial twelve launched to celebrate this union, among them Galactica and Columbia. The purpose of these Battlestars was to be impervious to backdoor hacking, by using primitive computers without any form of networking. Though cumbersome, it proved an enormous tactical advantage and further Battlestars were put into service to replace the cruiser losses.
In the twelfth year of the war, Galactica, Columbia and a third Battlestar left the Cyrannus star system to assault a Cylon research outpost on a frigid ice planet in Operation: Raptor Talon. The Admiralty believed the Cylons were constructing a super-weapon, making its destruction crucial to the war effort. Columbia's batteries were destroyed by Cylon raider squadrons, allowing it to be destroyed by a missile barrage. Viper pilot Lt. William "Husker" Adama discovered after crash landing on the planet the super weapon did not in fact exist, and the research outpost was instead a cybernetics laboratory experimenting on human captives.[1] This operation occurred at the same time a Cylon offensive was underway on Tauron, in which the colonial defenses were forced to fight in the cities, leading to countless civilian casualties.[1] During these two final operations, five humanoid Cylons from Earth made contact with the colonial Cylons, and convinced them to sign an armistice agreement with the Admiralty, quickly putting an end to the war.[2]
Aftermath[]
A while after the armistice was agreed to and signed by both the United Colonial Government and the Cylon Delegation, Armistice Station was built and deployed in a remote stellar location along the agreed armistice line, to provide a meeting place between the United Colonial Government delegation and the Cylon delegation. The Colonial military continued to carry out patrol operations along the armistice line, utilizing Galactica as their ship of operations for this task.
The twelve Colonial worlds slowly began to rebuild, observing an aversion to advanced technology for a time, before a young computer science and AI expert known as Gaius Baltar began to speak out that advanced technology should not be feared, but should be embraced and utilized in its proper way. One by one, the original Battlestars were decommissioned in favor of newer hull-class Battlestars and cruisers, if they weren't destroyed in the battles of the First Cylon War.
Galactica was the last of her hull class in existence and was ordered by President Adar's administration to be decommissioned from service and converted into a military museum, permanently moored in space, before the attack on the Twelve Colonies occurred by the Cylons.
Major Battles & Campaigns[]
- Operation Clean Sweep
- Battle of Sector 12
- Battle of Djerba
- Ghost Fleet Offensive
- Operation Raptor Talon
- Battle of Tauron
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Battlestar Galactica: Razor.
- ↑ Battlestar Galactica, episode: "Deadlock".